


neighbours (how Daisy and Coulson could have met)

by nausicaa_of_phaeacia



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: 5 + 1, Alternate Universe, F/M, Meet-Cute, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-16
Updated: 2017-06-16
Packaged: 2018-11-15 00:26:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11219400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nausicaa_of_phaeacia/pseuds/nausicaa_of_phaeacia
Summary: Also, this guy is always singing in the shower, apparently, which is just a thin wall away from her bedroom (and his bathroom’s got an echo, oh my).





	neighbours (how Daisy and Coulson could have met)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AvatarQuake](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvatarQuake/gifts).



> So AvatarQuake posted some apartment AU prompts on tumblr, and while I didn't follow all of those I chose that closely, they were an awesome starting point :)  
> I wanna apologize for the fact that there are no makeouts in this. It seemed too soon!

**1.**

She hasn’t even seem him yet, but the new neighbour has really been getting on her nerves lately. Not that his singing is bad or anything (actually, every note is exactly on point), but their sleep cycles just seem to be really different. Which isn’t really surprising given that Daisy needs the dark most of the time to complete her Tide missions (Robbie always mockingly calls her "creature of the night" whenever she shows up late to their meetings).

Also, this guy is always singing in the shower, apparently, which is just a thin wall away from her bedroom (and his bathroom’s got an echo, oh my). Admittedly, this guy’s singing voice isn’t the worst thing to wake up to, but she’d really love to sleep in a little longer. At least once or twice a week.

Today, it’s a lot of Beatles, and that’s just exhausting (not that Daisy dislikes the Beatles, but there’s only so much she can take at 6:30 in the morning). At first, she tries hiding under a pillow, then gives up after a few minutes and just puts on some Killers to counteract the singing. Which works swimmingly for a while, until she notices the guy apparently knows every single one of their songs and is actually enjoying himself singing along as loud as he can.

Okay, that’s sort of cute.

 

**2.**

She completely forgets about how thin the walls are as she’s fighting with her boyfriend a few days later, and he probably just doesn’t care, since he’s shouting at her at the top of his lungs. Of course, they are always disagreeing about the same things, and yet, it seems that every time they fight about them, Lincoln’s getting louder and Daisy’s getting closer to vibrating him against the wall, which, obviously, she’s not going to do. As per usual, he’s hiding behind his degrees, basically implying Daisy could never fully understand the things he’s busy doing. But it’s the first time he’s actually calling her a "dropout", and Daisy’s done. That’s it, she’s had it. She doesn’t know how she manages to do it without raising her voice, but she tells him to take his stuff and go. She’s weirdly calm about it, and yet, there’s something in the tone of her voice that makes Lincoln obey immediately, not even throwing back a harsh comment. She guesses he’s always been a coward.

When he’s gone, she’s really determined not to cry, and she doesn’t, for a while, until it hits her how much of her time she’s given him. It seems like such a waste, and what’s worse, that’s the way it’s always been with guys and Daisy, she always ends up telling herself she doesn’t deserve more, telling herself it’s not cool to leave people when they’re not technically the worst of the worst, at least as long as there’s a semblance of love in the air. 

It hits her very suddenly, and again, she doesn’t think about the neighbour next door, just goes to cry, lets it all out. Daisy has never been one to cry loudly, sobs would have brought all the nuns into the bedroom, so she’s learned to cry as silently as possible. Still, he somehow hears her, because after a few minutes, she hears him say from behind the wall,  
"You were right to throw him out."

Her breath hitches for a moment, because this is sort of scary, and then again, it’s not, she’s just being pathetic. She takes a deep breath, wipes away her tears.  
"I’m sorry. We got really loud earlier." Her voice is not quite back yet.  
"That’s okay. I’m sorry for what he said. What a classist so--, what a classist guy."  
It makes her chuckle.  
"He _is_ a son-of-a-bitch, I guess," she says.  
She hears him chuckle, too, and she figures he must be quite the nice guy.  
"Wasted two years with that guy," she adds.  
"Sorry to hear that."

"How long have you guys been together?," she asks, suddenly. It’s probably too personal a question, but somehow the fact that there’s an actual wall between them, no matter how thin, makes her feel like that’s probably okay.  
"We’re not together anymore," he says.  
"Sorry," she says.  
"Thanks. It’s okay, I guess. In hindsight, she wasn’t the love of my life."  
"Thank God, then," she says, and he’s probably smiling, because she can’t hear him.

 

**3.**

It’s been a few weeks, and she hasn’t really heard him, so she finds herself worrying about him a little (especially since his shower singing in the morning has stopped). It’s weird, because obviously, it would be absurd if she missed him, on the other hand, she’s felt glad somehow that he’s there, especially during the evenings after the breakup.

One late evening, she finally hears Philip Coulson (she’s checked the name on his door) look for the key in his bag, unlock the door and carefully push it shut. She wouldn’t have said anything, but she hears him sigh.  
"Hey," she offers, a little shyly.  
It takes him a moment to reply.  
"Hey."  
"You okay?," she asks.  
A beat passes and it makes her feel really nervous, like she’s overstepped a boundary or something.  
"Not really," he replies, "not yet."  
"Oh." She instinctively puts her hand against the wall. "Sorry to hear that."  
"Thank you."  
She waits a moment for him to say something else, but he doesn’t.

"Do you need anything?"  
"Time, I guess," he says, and it sounds sad. Then it suddenly hits her, and she’s just guessing, but --  
"Sorry for your loss."  
"Thanks," he manages, and she can tell she was right. Poor guy.

The next few mornings, he doesn’t sing. Of course, she understands, but it feels wrong somehow. A few days later, she sets her alarm to 06:25, then starts singing _Eleanor Rigby_ at the top of her lungs at 06:30. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have the advantage of having an echo in her bedroom, but that’s what she’s got, it’s got to work.

It takes him a while, but when Coulson joins in at _Eleanor Rigby, died in a church and was buried along with her name_ she feels a little guilty (perfect song choice, Daisy) but accomplished nevertheless.

 

**4.**

On her birthday, she decides to go out for a little walk, to enjoy the nice weather (and have some ice cream, maybe). Just as she’s about to walk down the stairway from the top floor, she sees the top of Lincoln’s hair hurry upstairs really fast. Of course, she’s thrown her keys deep into her handbag, so that’s not going to help. For a moment, she’s about to panic, because her ex is definitely the last person she’d like to see, let alone spend time with, on her birthday.

Just in time, she notices that Coulson’s door is open. Apparently, he’s been getting groceries, there’s still a bag of vegetables standing in the doorway. Not one second too early, she grabs the bag and jumps into the apartment, closing her door behind her.

She hears Lincoln ring her bell, then start knocking on her door, calling her name. She doesn’t even really dare to breathe because of the thin walls. Unfortunately, the neighbour apparently heard the noise, and Daisy can hear him walk towards her. At first, she considers hiding, but since there’s nowhere to hide really, she raises her finger to her lips, in the hope that the guy’s not going to panic.

He pops up from behind the door, and Daisy sees him almost yell, but he just drops the bottle of milk he’s been holding in his hand. It shatters, of course, and there’s milk everywhere. Thankfully, he doesn’t say anything, and she’s more grateful than she can say that he apparently trusts her without knowing that it’s her (they still haven’t met).

Very slowly, she tiptoes towards him, smiling. When she’s close enough to be sure he’ll hear her tiniest whisper, she explains, "I’m the neighbour. It’s my ex." He starts nodding immediately, and she adds, "I’m sorry." He makes a dismissive gesture, smiling.  
"Coffee?," he tries, whispering. "I’ve got more milk."

She smiles, and they tiptoe into the kitchen, leaving the mess on the floor. Coulson brews some filter coffee (no noise), and they drink it in silence, smiling at each other from time to time. Lincoln doesn’t give up – he’s stopped calling and knocking, but Daisy can very well hear that he’s pacing in front of her door. She’s never felt more glad that she does now that she’s sent him away. 

When she’s done with her coffee, she mouthes a very friendly _thank you_ , then proceeds to open Coulson’s kitchen window. She turns back for a moment to nod at him (he’s smiling), then climbs out onto the facade, carefully pushes open her bedroom window from outside. She could have sworn there was some sort of admiration in his eyes.

 

**5.**

It’s Thanksgiving and she’s been out to buy something nice to eat (she doesn’t allow herself to have actually nice food very often, but Daisy figures this is one of those days when she really deserves it), but when she gets back, she instantly notices something’s wrong. Maybe it’s her doormat that’s been pushed a little to the left, maybe it’s the faint noise she thinks she’s hearing from inside her apartment – she puts the grocery bag down on her floor, then takes a step back to take a breath. With a small sigh, she throws herself against the door. It swings open sooner than she’d have anticipated, and she can feel it knock down someone. Well, two birds with one stone.

As she gets the groceries and closes the door behind her, though, she realizes it’s Coulson. She swears, kneels down to make sure he’s okay. He’s just knocked out, but still. Goddamn it.  
She goes to put the food in the fridge. When she’s finished, she realizes there’s an enormous bouquet of flowers on the table (how did she not notice this before?). It’s really beautiful. That’s when she connects the dots: Coulson must have brought her flowers for Thanksgiving while she was out. He must have broken in, though? Probably?

She’s not sure what to do, but she figures the least she could do is pick her neighbour up from the floor. He’s not that heavy, she figures he must be working out pretty regularly. The couch is full of laundry, so she puts him down on her bed (as carefully as possible). That doesn’t seem like enough, though, so she eventually takes off his shoes and covers him with the blanket. At least now he looks peaceful?

At first, she sits down on the bed, but he’s out like a light, so she decides to start cooking. She’s never been a great cook, and it’s an unfamiliar recipe, but it looks like she’s doing this right, because it smells amazing. After a while, she hears a knock on the doorframe. It’s Coulson, and he looks very guilty, for some reason. 

"Sorry I startled you," he says. There’s quite a visible bump on his head.  
"Sorry I knocked you out," she replies. "Force of habit."  
They smile at each other.  
"I’ll go," he says, "I just wanted to –"  
"Stay for dinner?," she tries. "I’m not the best cook, but it smells good, so I think it’s edible."  
He blushes (it’s really cute), but he sits down when Daisy gestures towards one of the chairs.

 

**+1**

It’s not like they didn’t get to talk over Thanksgiving dinner, but apparently, there are some things they haven’t told each other, because from her seat on the panel, Daisy spots Coulson standing next to the door, wearing S.H.I.E.L.D. gear. He doesn’t notice her looking at him, but as soon as she starts her speech on building a council for Inhuman rights, his eyes are glued to her. It’s actually hard to break the eye contact and look at the crowd during the speech. Daisy thinks he looks like he’s just fallen in love with her, but that might just be the adrenaline from speaking in public.

When it’s over and she goes to exit the building through the back door, she hears steps behind her. It’s Coulson.  
"Can I offer you a lift?," he says.  
"You wanna share a cab?," she smiles.  
"No, I came by car," he replies, smirking a little, and Daisy’s got to admit, she’s curious as to what brand of car he drives.

He holds the door for her, and she scans the parked cars, tries to guess which one might be his. He must have seen it, because he says, "I parked around the corner."  
They turn left, and _damn her_ , it’s a red Corvette. She must look pretty surprised, because his smile is very pleased.

As they’re both getting in and Daisy’s found words again, she asks, gesturing at the car, "So are you taking me out on a fancy date or something?"  
Of course, she isn’t being serious, but it makes Coulson smile.  
"I was going to drive us home, since we live next door to each other," he says, "but since you mentioned it, I know just the place," he adds, blushing a little while he’s trying to keep his cool, and it’s adorable. Okay, Daisy thinks, why not, because he’s actually really cute, and she’s curious where he’d be taking her.  
"Sure," she replies, and Coulson’s beaming.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! Hope you liked it! :)
> 
> (This is where I got the prompts from: https://avatarquake.tumblr.com/post/161542630724/tulirps-an-assortment-of-apartment-plots-i)


End file.
